On News Manipulation.
Until these last months, living through the Mali Crisis, I had never realized to what extent news is a commercial commodity; that what happens needs to be rearranged so it will sell more news papers, raise viewing figures, or indeed manage public opinion. Certain items are flying against the prevailing wind, so they are not of any interest.
An example already mentioned before is Holland Cotter’s article in the New York Times about the archeological site Djenne Djenno – see blog August 8- Although Cotter has my email and could contact me, or indeed Samake at the Mission Culturelle before writing his article he does not. He has already written this article in his head. It paints a worrying picture of the Djenne Djenno site: it is being neglected and artefacts are being sold off because of the Crisis. This sells. If his article had instead mentioned that in June this year, well after the overthrow of the ATT government, and well into the Crisis, a project sponsored by the Prince Klaus Foundation of the Netherlands is planting in the region of 10 000 trees to save the site from erosion, it would have been an item that flew in the face of the prevailing wind, and it would not be given the news space.

Now, take this more pressing matter of Douentza, the town some 190 k north of Mopti/Sevare, on the road to Timbuktu. This town has suddenly been reported in the international press as ‘having been taken by the Islamists.’
I sat up during the night reading the reports on the BBC site on the CNN site and various news sites. Not one of these sites mentions that Douentza was already taken ! Douentza has formed part of the occupied Malian territories since April.
Our friend Mohammed was the prison manager in Douantza in April when the Islamists and the MNLA were on the move towards the town. He took the 35 inmates for whom he was responsible and decamped to Djenne prison from the prison in Douentza . All government workers and all services fled the largely defenseless town and within hours the black flag of the MNLA was raised on the Mairie. This flag no longer flies over Douentza, the MNLA having been forced to abandon their positions to the Islamists.

What happened just now is that one group of Islamists – the MUJAO- have kicked out another militia group which was regarded as traitors to the ‘Cause’ (which is total Sharia in Mali) and suspected of harbouring Malian Army spies. This probably makes little difference in the larger picture, but it is reported in a sensational manner as if it were a new conquest: BBC News - Mali Islamist rebels in control of northern Mali seize the strategic town of Douentza, moving closer to the country's government-held south.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19454080

The worrying thing is that the Minister of Defense, speaking last night on Malian TV, did not mention the glaring fact that Douantza had formed part of the occupied territories either! And why would this be? He is using the media. It suits Mali that people think that the Islamists are on the move south. It will hopefully bring some much needed assistance...